Ben Swallow
Ben Swallow is a midfielder and forward who progressed through the Rovers youth system at the Bristol Academy of Sport, graduating to the first team squad in the summer of 2008, the same year as James Tyrell and Joe White. Before joining the Filton College setup he spent seven years playing schoolboy football for Cardiff City. In his first year with the senior squad, during which time he was loaned out to Taunton Town, Bridgwater Town and Chippenham Town, he wasn't used in any of Rovers' first team games, and in the summer of 2009 The Pirates only elected to keep him on a month-to-month rolling contract. He made his senior debut for Rovers in August 2009, coming on as a 73rd minute substitute, replacing Sean Rigg in a 2–1 League Cup win over Aldershot Town. Following this he was signed until the end of the 2009–10 season, and he continued to be a semi-regular first team player, mainly being used as a substitute. His performances during this spell earned him much praise, and in January 2010 he was rewarded with an improved contract that took him up until the summer of 2012. The appointment of Paul Buckle as manager in 2011 saw Swallow fall out of favour at the club, and after being told his services would no longer be required he was sent out on loan to Bath City. An injury crisis forced his recall to The Pirates, and he was presented with the opportunity to earn a second chance with Buckle when he made his first Rovers appearance of the 2011–12 season, coming on as a substitute in the 6–1 victory over AFC Totton in the FA Cup. He blew his chance however when he was sent off just five minutes after coming on, incurring the wrath of the Rovers boss in the process. He left The Gas on 31 January 2012, when he and the club mutually agreed to terminate his contract. Career Ben spent the early part of his senior career with Rovers, and was loaned out on four occasions. The first three times were before he established himself in the Rovers first team, when he spent time with Taunton Town, Bridgwater Town and Chippenham Town in order to get some experience of first team football. Ben joined Taunton Town on loan on 19 September 2008 for a month-long spell. During this period he played three games in the Southern League Division One South & West, as well as being an unused substitute for one game. He also played in two cup games, including a Somerset Senior Cup match against a Weston-super-Mare side that included no less than six former Rovers players; Ben Willshire, Ryan Paddock, Darren Mullings, Andy Gurney, James Palmer and Mark McKeever. After his spell at Taunton, Ben joined another Somerset side, Bridgwater Town, on loan late in November 2008. He made four league appearances during his spell, but his chances were limited due to a number of match postponements in this period. For his third and final loan of the 2008–09 season Ben joined Chippenham Town for a month. He was the third Rovers player to go on loan to Chippenham this season, following in the footsteps of Joe White and Alex Kite, who each spent three months with the Wiltshire club. He then spent two years as a fringe player at Rovers before being loaned out again, this time to Bath City, in 2011 when manager Paul Buckle felt that he was surplus to requirements at the Memorial Stadium. Buckle was forced to re-think his position however due to a midfield injury crisis, and Swallow was re-called from his loan on 16 November after having played nine times for Bath in the Conference Premier. He eventually left the club at the end of the January 2012 transfer window, allowing him to sign for York City in early February. His stay with York was a brief one, because although he was contracted until the end of the season he was released by manager he was released in April by manager Gary Mills for non-footballing reasons, reported by local York newspaper The Press as being repeated lateness to the training ground. He had made just two substitute appearances for The Minstermen by this point. The following season he signed for Conference side Newport County, initially on a month-long deal. He went on to make 20 league appearances for Newport over the course of the next year, thirteen of which were from the bench. Career stats Record against Rovers Ben has never played a competitive first team match against Bristol Rovers. Category:Players Category:Forwards Category:Players who joined in 2008 Category:Taunton Town Category:Bridgwater Town Category:Midfielders Category:20 October Category:Players born in 1989 Category:Chippenham Town Category:Bath City Category:York City Category:Newport County